Let me just start by saying I apologize for the longish post and thank you to all those who make this site possible.

I never post to forums, however I am at my wits end, and this Forums posts have helped me immensely in the past. Especially RonD who gets a special shout out for their immense wealth of knowledge that has taught me more than a thing or two in my short time on this earth and as a shadetree/amateur mechanic.


I have a 1994 Ford Ranger 2.3L that I bought in the summer of 20. Longbed single cab, white. Love this little thing, but its always had problems that I have slowly taken care of since then. Its never left me stranded once despite it throwing codes and having a rough idle. It was my daily driver for 40-50 miles a day. For the past 10 months it hasn't been driven nearly as much, no problems were noticed other than the usual. That was until a week ago. It did sit for a week and a half before this, half tank of gas. Went to a job interview, it stalled out not even a mile from home. Sitting at a light. It also refused to start back up. It would sound like it would start to turn then just bog out and die. Managed to roll it into a parking lot and a random truck bro came by to see if he could help. Didn't know what I was looking for but we opened the throttle all the way and after 30 sec of rough sounds it managed to start up and stay stable. Thanked him and went back home. I turned it off and it started up fine. Couldn't replicate the problem other than another time driving around that night and stopping. Felt like it was bogging but I was able to counteract it by giving it more throttle.


Decided it was time to start going through my engine codes again and actually fix them as I assumed something just got so bad it gave out. I was throwing codes 223, 224 and 335. Ill keep this part short. Basically days later and many hours in research (especially this site) helped me fix the 335 by changing out a bad EGR pressure feedback sensor. the 223 and 224 were fixed by changing out a bad NAPA ignition control module that came on the truck when I got it. Also found my spark plugs were all gapped to .056 so I gaped them all back down to .044. Cleaned the IAC did the simple test on the TPS by unplugging when running. Both seemed fine. Checked all vacuum lines and gas lines, no cracks or hissing/leaking that I can find. None of these things fixed the issue but they did make the truck run better when it was driving around and now I have no check engine light lol.


Last night I decided to take a break from it and get a fresh brain. So I got no error codes and its still running like this. I assume I'm getting spark and enough air. Which leaves me with gas and compression. I'm leaning on gas because Ive always been able to smell gas on the driver side. Smells rich? I know what everyone is gonna say "STOP THROWING PARTS AT IT". Well I needed a Hail Mary so this morning I replaced the FPR thinking that might be my problem. Didn't seem to change anything. Idol sounds like it cant decide where to sit, like its adjusting itself up or down every few seconds. So I have no info to go off of other than to do a compression test and fuel pressure test, which Ive never done before. Decided to fill the tank to see if it would act differently, and you know what it did. Now it stalls every time I start it up. Barely got it home from the gas station around the corner. Had to keep the throttle going harder even at low speeds. Now I can barely start it and when I do it dies every time.


Im sure there is stuff I have forgot in this post. This has been a weeklong ordeal for me. Im a mere humble shadetree that has never been to a mechanic in my life. This might be the one that does me in. Any advice from those on here or the best process to test compression and fuel pressure on these would be extremely helpful. Still gotta go buy setups to test them.

Will post updates. Thank you in advance.

P.S I know they changed alot of stuff on these around 94. I have the older version of stuff.


Main Symptoms:
Starts up but immediately bogs out and dies, every time when sitting. Before gas tank was filled it would only do it here and there seemingly after the truck warms up a little.
Erratic Idle
Smells like Gas on driver side, no leaks found.
No CEL or codes


List of parts changed on truck while in my possession:
Plugs
Wires
Coilpacks (both)
Thermostat sensor and housing
Shocks
Tires
Ignition Control Module
EGR Pressure Feedback Sensor
Fuel Pressure Regulator
Fuel Filter

 

Shame on me bogging with the same thread. Mods please feel free to delete this thread. Im not sure how to do it myself.